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A Different Kind of Business

Here's the scoop

Ben & Jerry's ice cream co-founder Jerry Greenfield talks about business, community service and how the two can coexist. He also finds time to serve up his signature treats.

By DEMORRIS LEE
Published September 11, 2005

UNIVERSITY AREA - The way Jerry Greenfield sees it, the power forces in this country have shifted. Once the driving force was religion. Later it was the government. Now it's business.

"Religion and government had been looking out for the welfare of people, but business never had to do that," said the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.

Because of that shift, businesses must now make a conscious effort to make sure citizens are taken care of, Greenfield said Thursday night while addressing a full auditorium at the University of South Florida. His appearance was part of USF's fall lecture series.

Greenfield acknowledges that the idea of the business world looking out for people's basic needs may sound like an oxymoron because business is about one thing: making profits. He argues that business people can do both, but it takes innovation.

Ben & Jerry's business philosophy has been different from the beginning.

The ice cream company, which Greenfield founded in 1978 with childhood friend Ben Cohen, always made community empowerment part of its business plan. Many thought the idea was a bad move, but Greenfield said business is about making money, and the more you make, the more you give.

"We measured our success not just by how much money we made, but by how much we contributed to the community," Greenfield said. "It was a two-part bottom line."

It was a successful model. In 2000, the duo sold the ice cream company they'd started with $4,000 apiece to industry giant Unilever for $326-million.

"We added value to the company by doing business the way we did it," Greenfield said, dressed in an aqua polo shirt with the Ben & Jerry's logo, a black pair of pants and gray sneakers. "There is a spiritual aspect to business."

Greenfield shares his message across the country because he firmly believes that businesses can be profitable while integrating social and environmental concerns into their day-to-day operations. He gave several examples of how Ben & Jerry's did it.

For one, the company started buying brownies for one of its ice cream flavors from a company that employs and caters to people recovering from substance abuse or other ailments of life. Secondly, of the company's nearly 300 stores, 12 are partnerships with nonprofit social service agencies that help at-risk youth.

Greenfield said "business is valueless," not because it's bad, but because at its very core the goal is "to maximize profits." He said business owners have to "get rid of that mind set."

"If you open up the mind, the opportunity to address both profits and social conditions are limitless," Greenfield said. "It's a process of innovation."

Ted Freeman, 27, part owner of Timeless Healing Art in Tampa, was inspired by Greenfield's remarks.

"I agree that you have to encourage values in business," Freeman said as he waited in line to shake Greenfield's hand. "I want to see more values instilled in companies so they can care more about the customer."

Noa Michaeli, 20, a USF junior majoring in political science, also was inspired by Greenfield's delivery.

"Because it was so down-to-earth, you come away knowing that he believes in what he's doing and that I could do the same," she said.

The trip couldn't have been more "down-to-earth" for Greenfield. He spent Thursday afternoon scooping ice cream for customers at the Ben & Jerry's store in University Mall.

After his speech at USF, he stood at the end of a line as person after person shook his hand, solicited advice, slipped him business cards, or just thanked him for the Chunky Monkey flavor of Ben & Jerry's.

"He's such a great guy," said Tony Holbrook, who was the first Ben & Jerry's distributor in Central Florida. "Before you could be a distributor of the ice cream, you had to agree to do community service in your community. It was just a privilege to be a part the company."

- Demorris Lee can be reached at 813 269-5313 or dalee@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 10, 2005, 09:32:05]